Disclosure: We received this product in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own and I only recommend things I love and think my readers will enjoy as well.
I get the opportunity to review some pretty cool stuff for this blog. Still, it's not everyday that I open a box and am unable to stop myself from saying "This is awesome!" repeatedly.
Animal Trackers is a monthly subscription club that promotes creative exploration and hands-on learning. Bode Bear guides your child through various habitats, starting with the African savanna, to explore and learn to appreciate the animal world, while promoting early reading skills.
Animal Trackers is a monthly subscription club that promotes creative exploration and hands-on learning. Bode Bear guides your child through various habitats, starting with the African savanna, to explore and learn to appreciate the animal world, while promoting early reading skills.
The 1st month Bode Bear sends you a special safari lunchbox to start the adventure. It contains foam stickers of African animals with two landscapes to stick them on, a pencil, and animal cards you can sort or play a matchng game with (we played "Go Fish" with them too!).
But the real fun starts in month 2, when your child will get a package focusing on their 1st African savanna animal - the zebra. A colorfully-illustrated card gives facts about zebras, while a foam dress-up mark and toy figurine will find their way into pretend play (and you'll overhear how much they're been learning!). The animal magnet you get with each unit sticks nicely to the lunch box as well.
The zebra package also comes with an art activity (Magic Nuudles - no mess!) and printable sheets that work on matching letter sounds and number recognition. (Kay loved the beginning-reader words; she wanted to do it over and over again!)
The zebra package also comes with an art activity (Magic Nuudles - no mess!) and printable sheets that work on matching letter sounds and number recognition. (Kay loved the beginning-reader words; she wanted to do it over and over again!)
The verdict - Kay LOVED this...and I loved all the learning that was happening without her even noticing. For a week she was talking about the African savanna and the animals that lived there; as far as I know she'd never even heard of the place before, so I call that a win!
While I thought it was a great idea, and I loved the materials, I was still impressed by how taken Kay was with the whole thing. And hearing her spout out things like, "Look, a giraffe. They're from the African Savanna!" at random moments is priceless!
While I thought it was a great idea, and I loved the materials, I was still impressed by how taken Kay was with the whole thing. And hearing her spout out things like, "Look, a giraffe. They're from the African Savanna!" at random moments is priceless!
There are several options for these monthly subscription clubs; what makes the Animal Trackers Club different?
- Animals. This is the first (and only one so far) that I've come across that focuses on animals, learning about them and their habitats.
- It introduces preschoolers to geography, a hard concept for them to understand, in a fun and age-appropriate way.
- It is perfectly tailored to pre-readers and beginning readers.
- Getting things in the mail each month is just fun. (True, could be said about all the monthly clubs, but it's important enough to mention!)